u04a1 - Cell Phones in the Classroom - A Language Arts Teacher's Perspective

When it comes to cell phones in the classroom there is a wide spectrum of opinions on the role these mobile technologies should play in a classroom. These opinions vary from ban cell phones at schools to use them every day. Issues, such as, the age of the children using cell phones play a major role in the side of the argument educators take.  

I reached out to a colleague of mine who I used to teach with and she currently uses cell phone technology in her classroom.  Jen Price is a 6th grade English/Language Arts teacher at Oakridge Middle School here in Naples, Florida. I spent some time talking with Jen about her thoughts on cell phone technology in her school and in her classroom.  

Jen began using cell phones with her students in 2012-13 as a way to offer a new twist on doing book projects. Students and faculty at Oakridge MS were under a school policy that allowed students to have cell phones on campus and in their pockets, but the devices had to be turned off and unused except before and after school.  Jen approached her school leadership and asked for and received permission to utilize cell phones for their book projects, which included student presentations.  These book projects focused on creative ways of describing the characters of various books that were being read.  Some of these project ideas included:

• Creating an Instagram account for a character they were reading about and "liking" topics that they thought the character in the book would have chosen if they had one of these accounts.
• Another group used a voice recorder on a cell phone to create a message for an answer machine or cell phone voice mail box.  These messages were recorded using the personality the students believed the character would have expressed in this message.  
• A music video was created using an app on a smartphone to address a topic in a book.
• Students also used their cell phones to write text messages back and forth as is  they were two characters from a book and then printed these "screen shots" to present to the class. 

Jen discovered a few things during this process.  She learned that when students were given technology options, they most often opted for their cell phone.  The projects that allowed for cell phone use produced the most excitement and engagement among her students.  She also observed a new found excitement for presenting material to their classmates.  

We also discussed the feelings of the parents of her students when it came to cell phones in class.  As expected some parents didn't see the need for students to have cell phones in class, while other wanted their student to have their phone with them at school.  Most parents, according to Jen, were "surprised" when they found out about the methods used for learning with their cell phones.  

We wrapped up our discussion with what her plans are for cell phones in her classroom in 2013-14.  Jen plans on using cell phones more often in this school year and in a variety of ways that won't just include book projects.  

Like anything new to education, there is a period where we see some teachers taking the lead on using a new resource, teaching method or in this case technology.  In the end, it is the excitement for learning that we generate with our students that should guide the decisions we make about using these mobile technologies in the classroom.   

Citation:

Price, J. (2013, July 17). Using cell phones in a 6th grade classroom. (C. Witthoff, Interviewer)